THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  JOHN  F.  SLATER  FUND 


Occasional  Papers,  No.  6 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES 


BY 


HENRY  GANNETT, 

of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 


BALTIMORE 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  TRUSTEES 
1895 


Price  25  Cents 


I 


.f  ,'fc 


THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  JOHN  F.  SLATER  FUND 

Occasional  Papers,  No.  6 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES 


BY 

HENRY  GANNETT, 

of  the  United  Stales  Geological  Survey 


BALTIMORE 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  TRUSTEES 
1895 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD, 


Appointed. 

1882. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio. 

*1893. 

1882. 

Morrison  E.  Waite,  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

*1888. 

1882. 

William  E.  Dodge,  of  New  York. 

*1883. 

1882. 

Phillips  Brooks,  of  Massachusetts. 

fl889. 

1882. 

Daniel  C.  Gilman,  of  Maryland. 

1882. 

John  A.  Stewart,  of  New  York. 

1882. 

Alfred  H.  Colquitt,  of  Georgia. 

*1894. 

1882. 

Morris  K.  Jesup,  of  New  York. 

1882. 

James  P.  Boyce,  of  Kentucky. 

*1888. 

1882. 

William  A.  Slater,  of  Connecticut. 

Elected. 

1883. 

William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  of  New  York. 

1888. 

Melville  W.  Fuller,  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

1889. 

John  A.  Broadus,  of  Kentucky. 

*1895. 

1889. 

Henry  C.  Potter,  of  New  York. 

1891. 

J.  L.  M.  Curry,  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

1894. 

William  J.  Northen,  of  Georgia. 

1894. 

Ellison  Capers,  of  South  Carolina. 

tl895. 

1894. 

C.  B.  Galloway,  of  Mississippi. 

1895. 

Alexander  E.  Orb,  of  New  York. 

From  1882  to  1891,  the  General  Agent  of  the  Trust  was  Rev.  A.  G.  Hay- 

GOOD,  D.  D.,  of  Georgia,  who  resigned  the  office  when  he  became  a Bishop 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Since  1891,  the  duties  of  a 
General  Agent  have  been  discharged  by  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Cukry,  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  Chairman  of  the  Educational  Committee. 


* Died  in  office. 


fEesigned. 


ANNOUNCEMENT. 


The  Trustees  of  the  John  F.  Slater  Fund  propose  to  publish  from  time  to 
time  papers  that  relate  to  the  education  of  the  colored  race.  These  papers 
are  designed  to  furnish  information  to  those  who  are  concerned  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  schools,  and  also  to  those  who  by  their  official  stations  are 
called  upon  to  act  or  to  advise  in  respect  to  the  care  of  such  institutions. 

The  Trustees  believe  that  the  experimental  period  in  the  education  of 
the  blacks  is  drawing  to  a close.  Certain  principles  that  were  doubted  thirty 
years  ago  now  appear  to  be  generally  recognized  as  sound.  In  the  next 
thirty  years  better  systems  will  undoubtedly  prevail,  and  the  aid  of  the 
separate  States  is  likely  to  be  more  and  more  freely  bestowed.  There  will 
also  be  abundant  room  for  continued  generosity  on  the  part  of  individuals 
and  associations.  It  is  to  encourage  and  assist  the  workers  and  the  thinkers 
that  these  papers  will  be  published. 

Each  paper,  excepting  the  first  number  (made  up  chiefly  of  official  docu- 
ments), will  be  the  utterance  of  the  writer  whose  name  is  attached  to  it, 
the  Trustees  disclaiming  in  advance  all  responsibility  for  the  statement  of 
facts  and  opinions. 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


The  statistics  of  occupations  used  in  this  paper  are  from  the 
Census  of  1890,  and  represent  the  status  of  the  race  on  June  1 
of  that  year.  The  Census  takes  cognizance  only  of  ‘‘gainful’’ 
occupations,  excluding  from  its  lists  housewives,  school  chil- 
dren, men  of  leisure,  etc.  Its  schedules  deal  only  with  wage- 
earners,  those  directly  engaged  in  earning  their  living. 


General  Statistics. 

In  1890,  out  of  a total  population  of  62,622,250,  22,753,884 
persons,  or  34.6  per  cent,  were  engaged  in  gainful  occupations. 
Of  the  negroes,  including  all  of  mixed  negro  blood,  numbering 
7,470,040,  3,073,123,  or  41.1  per  cent,  were  engaged  in  gain- 
ful occupations.  The  proportion  was  much  greater  than  with 
the  total  population.  This  total  population,  however,  was 
composed  of  several  diverse  elements,  including,  besides  the 
negroes  themselves,  the  foreign  born  (of  which  a large  propor- 
tion were  adult  males),  and  the  native  whites.  The  following 
table  presents  the  proportions  of  each  of  these  elements  which 
were  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  : 


Proportion.  Per  Cent. 

Total  population 34.6 

Whites 35.5 

Native  whites 31.6 

Foreign  born 55.2 

Negroes 41.1 


5 


6 


(KXJUPATIONS  or  THE  NEGROES. 


The  diagram  No.  1 sets  forth  these  figures  in  graphic  form. 
The  total  area  of  the  square  represents  the  population.  This 
is  sub-divided  by  horizontal  lines  into  rectangles  representing 
the  various  elements  of  the  population,  and  the  shaded  part  of 
each  rectangle  represents  the  proportions  engaged  in  gainful 
occupations. 

The  proportion  was  greatest  among  the  foreign  born  because 
of  the  large  proportion  of  adults,  and  particularly  of  males, 
among  this  element.  Next  to  that,  the  proportion  was  greatest 
among  the  negroes,  being  much  greater  than  among  the  whites 
collectively  and  still  greater  than  among  the  native  whites. 

Classifying  the  wage-earners  of  the  country  in  respect  to 
race  and  nativity,  it  appears  that  64.5  per  cent,  were  native 
whites,  22  per  cent,  were  of  foreign  birth,  and  13.5  per  cent, 
were  negroes. 

Analyzing  the  statistics  of  occupation  by  sex,  it  is  discovered 
that  the  proportion  of  native  white  males  who  had  occupations 
was  53.4  and  of  females  9.4  per  cent.  The  corresponding 
proportion  of  male  negroes  was  56.3  per  cent,  and  of  female 
negroes  26.0  per  cent.  The  male  negroes  were  slightly  more 
fully  occupied  than  were  the  native  whites,  while  among  females 
the  proportion  of  wage-earners  was  much  greater.  The  differ- 
ence between  native  whites  and  negroes  in  the  proportion  of 
wage-earners  was,  therefore,  due  mainly  to  the  fuller  occupa- 
tion of  women.  To  put  it  in  another  form  : Out  of  every 

hundred  native  whites  who  pursued  gainful  occupations,  85 
were  males  and  15  were  females.  Of  every  hundred  negroes, 
69  were  males  and  31  were  females.  Indeed,  a larger  pro- 
portion of  women  pursued  gainful  occupations  among  negroes 
than  in  any  other  class  of  the  population. 

Classification  op  Occupations. 

The  primary  classification  of  occupations  made  by  the  Census 
recognized  five  great  groups,  as  follows:  1.  Professions;  2. 

Agriculture ; 3.  Trade  and  transportation  ; 4.  Manufactures  ; 
5.  Personal  Service.  These  titles  are  self-explanatory,  with 


Proportion  of  the  Population  and  its  elements,  which  were 
engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  1890. 

Diagram  No,  i« 


Classification  of  the  Wage-earners  by  Race  and  Nativity 
and  by  Occupations. 

Diagram  No.  2. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/occupationsofneg00gann_0 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


7 


the  possible  exception  of  the  last  class,  which  is  mainly  com- 
posed of  domestic  servants. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportion  of  the  negro  wage- 
earners  engaged  in  each  of  these  groups  of  occupations.  In 
juxtaposition,  for  comparison,  are  placed  similar  figures  for 
the  native  whites  and  the  foreign  born. 


Professions. 


Native  White. 

Foreign  Bom. 

Negro. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

2.2 

1.1 

...  41.0 

25.5 

57.2 

1...  17.0 

14.0 

4.7 

...  22.9 

31.3 

5.6 

...  13.6 

27.0 

31.4 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

Similar  facts  are  shown  by  diagram  No.  2.  In  this  the  total 
area  of  the  square  represents  the  number  of  persons  in  the 
country  pursuing  gainful  occupations.  This  is  divided  into 
rectangles  by  horizontal  lines,  the  rectangles  being  proportioned 
respectively  to  the  numbers  of  the  native  whites,  the  foreign 
born,  and  the  negroes.  The  sub-division  of  these  rectangles 
by  vertical  lines  indicates  the  proportion  in  each  group  of 
wage-earners. 

The  most  striking  facts  brought  out  by  this  table  and  dia- 
gram are  that  only  a trifling  proportion  of  the  negroes  were 
in  the  professions,  that  much  more  than  one-half  were  farmers, 
and  nearly  one-third  were  engaged  in  personal  (mainly  domes- 
tic) service.  Indeed,  over  seven-eighths  of  them  were  either 
farmers  or  servants.  The  proportions  engaged  in  trade  and 
transportation  and  in  manufactures  were  very  small.  In  re- 
spect to  the  farming  class,  they  contrasted  sharply  with  the 
foreign  born.  In  trade  and  transportation  and  in  manufac- 
tures the  contrast  was  even  greater,  in  the  contrary  direction. 
The  foreign  born  contained  a much  larger  proportion  of  pro- 
fessional men. 

Comparing  the  negroes  with  the  native  whites,  equally 
interesting  contrasts  appear.  Professional  men  were  much 


8 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


more  numerous  among  whites  than  among  negroes.  The  pro- 
portion of  the  farming  class,  although  much  smaller,  was  nearer 
that  of  the  negroes  than  was  the  same  class  among  the  foreign 
born.  In  trade  and  transportation  and  in  manufactures  the 
native  whites  had  much  greater  proportions,  while  in  per- 
sonal service  the  proportion  was  much  less  than  that  of  the 
negroes. 

Male  and  Female  Wage-Earners. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  analyze  these  figures  further.  The 
following  table  classifies  negro  wage-earners  by  occupation  and 
by  sex,  giving  for  each  sex  the  percentage  engaged  in  each 
group  of  occupations : 

Male.  Female. 


Professions 1.2  0.9 

Agriculture 63.4  44.0 

Trade  and  transportation 6.8  0.2 

Manufactures 7.0  2.8 

Personal  service 21.6  52.1 


These  figures  are  also  illustrated  by  diagram  No.  3,  the  area 
of  which  represents  all  negro  wage-earners.  The  two  rec- 
tangles into  which  it  is  divided  represent  the  males  and  females ; 
each  of  these  is  sub-divided  into  rectangles  representing  the 
number  in  each  group  of  occupations.  Of  the  male  negro 
wage-earners,  more  than  three-fifths  were  farmers  and  a little 
less  than  one-fourth  were  servants.  The  two  classes  jointly 
accounted  for  nearly  85  per  cent,  of  all. 

Of  the  females,  considerably  less  than  one-half  were  farmers 
and  more  than  one-half  were  servants — the  two  classes  together 
accounting  for  95  per  cent,  of  all.  This  large  proportion  of 
female  negro  farmers  was  doubtless  made  up  in  the  main  of 
women  and  female  children  employed  in  the  cotton  fields. 

Number  of  Wage-Earners. 

The  following  table,  abstracted  from  the  Census  publications, 
shows  the  number  of  negroes  in  all  occupations  and  in  each  of 
the  five  great  groups  of  occupations  by  sex  and  by 'states  and 
territories : 


Classification  of  Negro  Wage-earners  by  Sex  and  Occupation. 


Diagram  No.  3. 


I'ri)fcssioiis. 


Agriculture. 

Trade  and 

Transportation. 


Manufactures. 


Personal  Service. 


Negroes. 


OCCUPATIONS  OP  THE  NEGROES.  9 


N EGROES. — Continued, 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


Manufacturing  and 
Mechanical  In- 
dustries. 

1 Females. 

eo  « eo  CO  »o  o 1-H  w o r- o i-i 'S' ^ CO  r 

v-i  o o «o  cOf-i^c^ 

t-ToT  ^ oT 

Males.  1 

t^cocsoo^  cs  ^ CO  CO  C4 © o CO  © 00  w o cs 

CO  00^  ot^  ^ 

VcT^io  co" 

Trade  and 
Transportation. 

1 Females. 

:io  :^©  ;©T-«»^'»t*coooi-'»c©*-i  :co  ;c»^eo 

• c^  .o©  © CO  © : 40  : 

: : »-4  : „ ^ ^ \ 

Males.  I 

u5cot-Tfv-io»-'^©t^ooo«co©©— •^©■*»'co©©©-vi^ 
^c^i-HC^i-iTj<rooi-ic^oi’0'v-''i'©c^40coi-i«©©oct'»eo 

c^‘^“t^co‘  ©'  o'  o'  iS  icToT 

Domestic  and 
Personal  Service. 

1 Females. 

ojv-<oo^©©©coe^ioc^s— t^©eo4oeo©ooc>i«^ojv^i^ 
woo»Hooco40'^©cs»o©oo©o^coco-^Tj'©'^cooor«“ 
s-i  CO 

oTi-T  <S  ©“V  40  cT 

vH  CO  vH  (M  CO  OI  40 

Males.  1 

10COt'-v~<©v-<i—©©'^*-i0040i-'T}<400©QOCOlO©©’— CO 
i-i'^OOOs^iOlO®©i-'COC^©OiC»-©0'V«yCSW»-OCv-« 

CO  r^o  ’-*^40^  cc^oi  co  4C^s-«  o^co^c^  4i^^  co 

cT  co'o’'  V cii-^co  lo'co'  cT  ccT 

T~>  V*H  C'J  v-i  C4CS  CO 

Professional  Service. 

Females. 

^ ; :c^  :40io  ;oco©t^«oc^c^co  : :»-'Oico^i-h 
. .CO  .coo  © *-t  © ©o  . . •-*  o 

: : : ^ 40  :w  i-i  to  to ic  : :© 

Males. 

40 CO  :40i^©’^©t^c^c^co^oocoi^o^i^eo'^oor^co 
04  0 ■ CO  s-(  t>- rH  i-H  cs  oo  eo  coco  to^ocsio 

: cs  © o 40  4f^  ^ ^ 

* v-T  1-^  v-Tc^  ^ 

Agrieulture,  Fisher- 
ies, and  Mining. 

Females. 

:cov-»  :©co4oo  ? co  w ©c<  oo  ^ © oo  rs-H-^No-^  : 

t :cs  CM©  t o »-i  CM  OO  ^40  . O 40 

: : ^ i lo^r^  : : 

■ * C^  ‘ CO  OS' <S  ' o 

CO  « CM  s-4 

Males. 

^CM»-©OCOi-'COlO»-'400CM©lOCOO'^  — CM4O©©00  — 
.^TjJ^OOOCO©CO©COO©r^^JOv-'CMCMv-^40©0'^ 
CM  ^1-1  G>^‘V  CM  O « O CM  ©^  e^ClC_  t^CM  t^v-i  ^ 

co*'«r  o cT  cM^Lo"  CO 

© 00  © 

All  Occupations. 

Females. 

©©CMt^00O’^©C0^40©^CMOC0v-«r-.^©CMC0C040»0 
^40CM©C0400CMCM©CM©©OCO^©©lO©40©CM©r» 
v-i  © 1-H  r-^v-<  »-« c^CM 

t>r  CO  ocT  r-T  40*'  v-Tc>r  -h”  cm*" 

1-1  O H © 'C 

Males. 

i-Hi-iOCMeOCOCM©0*OQOO^I^^^04eQOCMC?CMC040CO 
r'-'^C5^'^C0Ii.C>-iJ‘C0©C0C0C0v-*C0i-'©©CM^©ti-40O 
© 1-1  CM  H 00  C^CO^— ■ ^©  40  *^C^*XCM  C^C^CM  CO  C^©  00  »o 

co'  <o  coao  cc  t'^cM*'«£T  —'‘e^  cT  i-T 

1-H  CM ’'T  CM  CO  00  CM  CM  O v-t 

26.  Montana 

27.  Nebraska 

28.  Nevada 

29.  New  Hampshire... 

30.  New  Jersey 

31.  New  Mexico 

82.  New  York 

33.  North  Carolina 

34.  North  Dakota 

36.  Ohio 

36.  Oklahoma 

87.  Oregon 

88.  Pennsylvania 

39.  Rhode  Island 

40.  South  Carolina 

41.  South  Dakota 

42.  Tennessee 

4.3.  Texas 

44.  Utah 

45.  Vermont 

46.  Virginia 

47.  Washington 

48.  West  Virginia 

49.  Wisconsin 

60.  Wyoming 

Proportion  of  Negro  Wage-earners  to  Negro  Population. 


Per  cent. 

Arizona 
Montana 
Wyoming... 
Washington 
Nevada. 

South  Dakota 
Utah. 

Colorado. 

Minnesota 

New  Hampshire 

New  York 

Oregon 
Idaho 
Ncl>raska. 

Idstrict  of  Columbia... 

New  Jersey 

New  Me.xico 

Massachusetts 

Ueniisylvania 

Khode  Island 

Con  neetkiit 

California 

Maine 

North  Dakota 

Maryland 

Delaware. 

I.nui>iaiia 
Vermont 
.\lahaiua 
( ieorgia 
West  Virginia 
Wisconsin 
Indiana 
Michigan 
Ohio 

South  Car<»liua 

Mi«‘si.-‘sippi 

Missouri 
Ulorhla 
Illinoi 
Iowa 

Kenttuky 

Nortli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Virginia 

Arkansas 

( tklahonia 

Kan 
Texas .. 


Proportions  of  Male  and  Female  Wage-earners. 


Diagram  No.  6, 

Per  cent.  0 10  SO  SO  >^0  50  60  70  SO  00  100 


MAUS 


rimis 


. £ 


I 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


11 


Proportion  of  Wage-Earners  to  Population. 

The  foregoing  diagram  No.  4 shows  by  the  length  of  the 
bars  the  proportion  which  the  negro  wage-earners  bore  in 
1890  to  the  negro  population  of  each  state.  This  proportion 
was  greatest  in  the  states  and  the  territories  of  the  west.  Fol- 
lowing these  are  the  northeastern  states,  while  the  lower  part 
of  the  column  is  made  up  of  the  states  in  the  upper  Mississippi 
valley  and  those  of  the  south. 

Occupations  by  Groups  of  States. 

The  distribution  of  wage-earners  among  the  five  occupation 
groups  differed  widely  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  To 
study  it,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  group  the  states  and  analyze 
the  statistics  of  each  group. 

The  groups  which  will  be  used  here  are  those  which  have 
been  in  use  in  the  last  two  censuses — namely,  the  northeastern 
and  southeastern,  north  central  and  south  central,  and  western 
groups.  The  states  and  territories  of  which  each  group  is 
composed  are  shown  in  map  No.  5. 

Examination  of  the  states  forming  the  above  groups  will 
show  that  the  groups  are  in  many  respects  very  characteristic. 
The  southeastern  and  south  central  groups  contain  nine-tenths 
of  the  negroes  of  the  country.  These  states  may  be  said  to 
constitute  the  home  of  the  negro,  while  in  the  northern  and 
western  states  he  is  an  immigrant. 

Occupations  by  Sex  and  State  Groups. 

Diagram  No.  6 shows  the  distribution  by  sex  and  by  groups 
of  states  of  the  negro  wage-earners.  It  appears  that  in  the 
northeastern,  southeastern,  and  south  central  groups  two-thirds 
of  the  wage-earners  were  males  and  one-third  were  females, 
while  in  the  north  central  and  western  groups  about  five-sixths 
were  males  and  one-sixth  only  were  females.  This  is  in  part 
due  to  the  disproportionate  number  of  males  in  these  parts  of 
the  country. 


12 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


Diagram  No.  7 shows  the  distribution  of  the  negro  wage- 
earners,  classified  by  sex,  among  the  five  occupation  groups 
and  by  groups  of  states.  The  length  of  each  bar  represents 
100  per  cent.,  and  each  bar  is  divided  proportionately  among 
the  dificrent  occupation  groups.  Thus  from  it  we  read  that 
in  the  northeastern  states  15  per  cent,  of  the  male  wage-earners 
were  engaged  in  agriculture,  56  per  cent,  in  personal  service, 
16  per  cent,  in  trade  and  transportation,  12  per  cent,  in  manu- 
factures, and  2 per  cent,  in  the  professions. 

It  is  seen  that  a far  larger  proportion  of  male  wage-earners 
were  engaged  in  agriculture  in  the  southern  states  than  in  the 
northern  and  western  states,  the  proportion  in  the  two  groups 
of  the  former  states  being  64  and  71  per  cent.,  while  in  the 
northeastern  states  only  15  per  cent,  were  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture, in  the  north  central  states  26  per  cent.,  and  in  the  western 
states  17  per  cent. 

In  trade  and  transportation  the  highest  proportion  was  found 
in  the  northeastern  states,  where  it  was  16  per  cent.;  in  the 
north  central  states  it  was  14  and  in  the  western  states  10  per 
cent.,  while  in  the  southeastern  states  it  was  7 per  cent,  and 
in  the  south  central  states  7 per  cent. 

Of  course,  the  magnitude  of  the  proportion  in  the  north- 
eastern states  is  due  to  the  fact  that  this  is  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  section  of  the  country,  where  a large  proportion 
of  all  the  population  is  engaged  in  these  avocations.  The 
same  is  the  case,  though  in  less  degree,  in  the  north  central 
states,  while  the  southern  states  are  almost  purely  agricultural. 
The  figures  relating  to  manufacturing  occupations  show  similar 
characteristics.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  northern  and 
western  states  the  occupations  of  the  negroes  were  more  diversi- 
fied than  in  the  southern  states.  Agriculture  and  personal 
service  in  the  northeastern  states  occupied  but  71  per  cent,  of 
all  wage-earners,  in  the  north  central  states  they  occupied  75 
per  cent.,  and  in  the  western  states  81  per  cent.,  while  in  the 
southeastern  states  these  two  occupation  groups  comprised  84 
per  cent,  and  in  the  south  central  88  per  cent,  of  all. 


E=d  Professions. 
flllE  Agriculture. 
;tVv  Mamifactiires. 


Trade  and  Transpor- 
tation. 


Personal 


Distribution  of  Occupations  by  Sex  and  Sections  of  the  Country. 

Diagram  No.  7. 

Per  cent.  0 10  20  SO  40  50  60  70  80  90  100 


Southeastern 


Male 

Female 


Xorth  Central... 


Male 

Female 


.South  Central... 


Male 

Female 


Mestern. 


Jlale 

Female 


Xortheastern.... 


iNIale 

Female 


Proportions  of  Males  and  Females  among  the  Negro 
Wage-earners. 

Diagram  No.  8. 

Per  cent.  0 10  20  SO  40  50  GO  70  SO  90  100 

West  Virginia 
Delaware 
.\rkansa.s. 

Missouri 

Tennessree 

Texas 

Kentucky 
Florida 

Xorth  Carolina 
Georgia 
Maryland 
Louisiana 
South  Carolina. 

Missis.sippi 
Alahama. 

District  of  Columhia.. 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGKOES. 


13 


The  diagram  shows  in  a similar  manner  the  distribution  of 
the  female  negro  wage-earners.  There  were  engaged  in  agri- 
culture in  the  northern  and  western  states  but  a trifling  pro- 
portion of  negro  women,  while  in  the  southern  states  as  a whole 
nearly  one-half  of  the  female  negro  wage-earners  were  engaged 
in  that  avocation.  On  the  other  hand,  personal  service  occu- 
pied fully  nine-tenths  of  the  female  wage-earuers  in  the  north- 
ern and  western  states,  while  in  the  southern  states  less  than 
one-half  were  engaged  in  it.  Indeed,  94  per  cent,  of  the 
female  wage-earners  of  the  west  were  engaged  in  personal 
service,  91  per  cent,  in  the  northeastern  states,  and  87  per 
cent,  in  the  north  central  states.  In  trade  and  transporta- 
tion the  proportion  was  trifling,  and  in  manufactures  it  was 
small,  although  much  larger  in  the  north  and  west  than  in 
the  south. 

Here,  also,  we  see  that  agriculture  and  personal  service 
occupied  nearly  all  wage-earners — 91  per  cent,  in  the  north- 
eastern states,  96  per  cent,  in  the  southeastern  states,  89  per 
cent,  in  the  north  central  states,  97  per  cent,  in  the  south 
central  states,  and  95  per  cent,  in  the  western  states.  Occu- 
pations were  slightly  more  diversified  in  the  north  and  west 
than  in  the  southern  states,  as  was  the  case  with  the  males. 

Occupations  by  States. 

It  will  now  be  of  interest  to  extend  this  study  in  detail  by 
states,  but,  in  doing  so,  the  study  will  be  confined  to  the 
southern,  the  former  slave  states,  which  are,  in  a sense,  the 
home  of  the  negro,  and  in  which  more  than  nine-tenths 
of  them  live.  In  most  of  the  northern  states  the  number 
of  negroes  is  so  small  that  any  conclusions  drawn  from  sta- 
tistics regarding  them  are  worthless  and  are  likely  to  be  mis- 
leading. 

Diagram  No.  8 shows  the  distribution  by  sex  of  the  negro 
wage-earners  of  these  southern  states.  The  total  length  of  the 
bar  represents  in  each  case  all  the  wage-earners,  the  white  portion 
representing  the  males  and  the  shaded  portion  the  females. 


14 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  NEGROES. 


This  diagram  shows  that  the  greatest  proportion  of  female 
wage-earners  is  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  where  it  is  nearly 
one-half  of  all  negro  wage-earners,  and  the  least  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  it  is  less  tlian  one-fifth  of  all.  In  most  of  the 
cotton  states  it  ranges  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  all 
negro  wage-earners. 

Diagrams  Nos.  9 and  10  present  the  proportion  of  male 
and  of  female  negro  wage-earners  who  are  engaged  in  agri- 
culture, personal  service,  and  other  occupations  in  the  southern 
states. 

The  first  of  these  diagrams,  representing  male  wage-earners, 
shows  that  agriculture  and  personal  service  accounted  for  from 
63  to  94  per  cent,  of  all  male  wage-earners.  Indeed,  exclud- 
ing the  District  of  Columbia  from  consideration,  from  73  to 
93  per  cent,  were  accounted  for  by  these  two  occupations. 

Again  excluding  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  is  not  a 
farming  community,  the  male  wage-earners  who  were  farmers 
constituted  in  the  different  states  proportions  varying  from  36 
per  cent,  in  Missouri  to  85  per  cent,  in  Mississippi.  The  pro- 
portion of  farmers  was  highest  in  the  cotton  states  and  decidedly 
less  in  the  border  states.  On  the  other  hand,  the  proportion 
of  males  engaged  in  personal  service  was  least  in  the  cotton 
states  and  increased  decidedly  in  those  further  north. 

The  second  diagram,  illustrating  the  occupations  of  female 
wage-earners,  has  certain  features  in  common  with  that  relat- 
ing to  males,  but  these  features  are  more  accented.  In  the 
cotton  states  a lai'ge  proportion  of  the  female  wage-earners 
worked  in  the  fields,  and  was  therefore  reported  as  engaged  in 
agriculture,  while  in  the  border  states  but  a small  proportion 
was  found  there.  On  the  other  hand,  domestic  service  claimed 
nearly  all  female  wage-earners  in  the  border  states,  but  in  the 
cotton  states  a relatively  small  proportion. 

Both  the  diagrams,  and  especially  the  first,  show  an  im- 
portant feature.  In  the  cotton  states  wage-earner.^  were  almost 
entirely  either  farmers  or  those  engaged  in  jiersonal  service, 
but  in  the  states  farther  north  these  classes  were  relatively 
smaller  and  occupations  were  somewhat  more  varied. 


Proportions  of  Male  Negro  Wage-earners  engaged  in  Agriculture, 
Personal  Service  and  other  occupations. 

Diagram  No.  9. 

Per  cent.  0 10  20  SO  40  50  60  70  80  90  100 


Mississippi 

South  Carolina... 

Arkansas 

Alabama 

North  Carolina... 
Georgia 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Tennessee 

Virginia. 

Florida 

Kentucky. 

Marjland 

Delaware 

West  Virginia.... 

Missouri 

Di.strict  of  Columbia 

Agriculture. 


Personal  Service. 


Other  occupations. 


Proportions  of  Female  Negro  Wage-earners  engaged  in  Personal 
Service,  Agriculture,  and  other  Occupations. 

Diagram  No.  lo. 

Per  cent. 0 10  20  SO  40  50  60  70  SO  90  100 


Delaware 

Jlis.souri 

We.st  Virginia 

Maryland 

Kentucky 

District  of  Columbia.. 

Virginia 

Tennessee 

Florida 

Georgia 

Texas 

North  Carolina 

Louisiana 

.\rkansas 

Alabama 

South  Carolina 

Mississi^j^ 

Personal  Service. 


Other  occupations. 


OCCUPATIONS  OP  THE  NEGROES. 


15 


Ownership  of  Farms  and  Homes. 

The  statistics  of  farm  and  home  ownership  and  of  mortgage 
indebtedness  of  the  Eleventh  Census  throw  some  light  upon 
the  pecuniary  condition  of  the  negro  race. 

The  total  number  of  farms  and  homes  in  the  country  in  1890 
was  12,690,152,  of  which  the  negroes  occupied  1,410,769,  or 
11.1  per  cent.  The  proportion  of  negroes  to  the  total  popu- 
lation was  at  that  time  12.20  per  cent.,  showing  a deficiency 
in  the  proportion  occupying  homes  and  farms  when  compared 
with  the  population. 

The  number  of  farms  in  the  country  was  4,767,179.  Of  these, 
549,642,  or  11.5  per  cent.,  were  occupied  by  negroes,  being 
a proportion  greater  than  that  of  farms  and  homes  combined. 

The  number  of  homes,  as  distinguished  from  farms,  in  the 
country  was  7,922,973,  of  which  861,137,  or  10.9  per  cent., 
were  occupied  by  negroes,  being  a proportion  less  than  that  of 
farms  and  homes  combined. 

Of  the  549,632  farms  in  the  country  occujned  by  negroes, 
120,738,  or  22.0  per  cent.,  were  owned  by  their  occupants. 
The  corresponding  proportion  for  whites  was  71.7  per  cent. 
Of  course,  as  regards  tenants,  the  reverse  was  the  case,  the 
proportions  being  for  whites  28.3  per  cent,  and  for  negroes 
78.0  per  cent.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  farms  occupied 
by  negroes  were  rented  ; in  other  words,  more  than  three-fourths 
of  the  negro  farmers  were  tenants,  while  less  than  one-fourth 
of  the  white  farmers  were  tenants. 

Of  the  farms  owned  by  the  negroes,  90.4  per  cent,  were 
without  incumbrance.  Of  those  owned  by  whites,  71.3  were 
without  incumbrance,  showing  a much  larger  proportion  en- 
cumbered than  among  those  owned  by  negroes. 

Of  861,137  homes  occupied  by  negroes  in  1890,  143,550 
were  owned  by  their  occupants  and  717,587  were  rented,  the 
proportions  being  19.0  per  cent,  and  81.0  per  cent.  Corre- 
sponding proportions  for  whites  were  39.4  per  cent,  and  60.6 
per  cent.  Of  the  houses  owned  by  negro  occupants,  126,264, 
or  87.7  per  cent.,  were  free  and  12.3  encumbered.  Correspond- 


16 


CX::CUPATIONS  of  the  negroes. 


ing  figures  for  whites  were  71.3  and  28.7  per  cent.,  showing, 
as  before,  a much  greater  proportion  of  free  holdings  among 
negroes  than  among  whites. 

Diagrams  Nos.  11  and  12  summarize  the  above  facts  in 
graphic  form.  The  total  areas  of  the  squares  represent  the 
number  of  farms  and  homes  respectively,  those  occupied  by 
whites  and  negroes  respectively  being  represented  by  the  rec- 
tangles into  which  the  squares  are  divided  by  horizontal  lines. 
The  vertical  lines  sub-divide  these  rectangles  into  others  pro- 
portional to  the  numbers  occupied  by  owners  without  and  with 
incumbrance,  and  by  renters. 

The  male  negroes  occupied  in  agriculture  numbered,  in  1890, 
1,329,584.  Of  these,  510,619  occupied  farms,  the  remainder, 
818,965,  being  presumably  farm  laborers.  The  negro  farmers, 
i.  e.,  occupants  of  farms,  constituted  38.3  per  cent,  of  the  male 
negroes  engaged  in  agriculture,  leaving  61.7  per  cent,  of  the 
number  as  laborers.  The  corresponding  figures  for  whites  were 
60.4  per  cent,  and  39.6  per  cent.  The  proportion  of  negroes 
engaged  in  agriculture  who  were  farmers — i.  e.,  occupied 
farms — was,  therefore,  much  smaller  than  that  of  the  whites. 
In  spite  of  this  low  comparativ'e  showing,  however,  it  must  be 
agreed  that,  considering  all  the  attendant  circumstances,  the 
proportion  of  negro  farm  occupants — more  than  one-third  of 
all  negroes  engaged  in  agriculture — is  unexpectedly  large. 

Summing  up  the  salient  points  in  this  paper,  it  is  seen  that 
in  the  matter  of  occupations  the  negro  is  mainly  engaged  either 
in  agriculture  or  personal  service.  He  has,  in  a generation, 
made  little  progress  in  manufactures,  transportation,  or  trade. 
In  these  two  groups  of  occupations,  males  are  in  greater  pro- 
portion engaged  in  agriculture  and  females  in  domestic  service. 
They  have,  however,  during  this  generation,  made  good  pro- 
gress toward  acquiring  property,  especially  in  the  form  of 
homes  and  farms,  and,  in  just  so  far  as  they  have  acquired 
possession  of  real  estate,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  they  have  become 
more  valuable  as  citizens.  The  outlook  for  them  is  very 
favorable  as  agriculturists,  but  there  is  little  prospect  that  the 
race  will  become  an  important  factor  in  manufactures,  trans- 
portation, or  commerce. 


FARMS. 


Diagram  No.  ii. 


HOMES. 


Diagram  No.  12. 


Rented. 


i 

1 


1 


♦ 

t 


JOHN  MURPHY  & CO.,  PRINTERS, 


BALTIMORE. 


